Taken

Chapter 10{Book 2}

RIKKI

February 14, 2014 7:45 a.m.

I was in the kitchen eating a blueberry bagel when I saw Kade drive up to my house. The night before he'd texted me saying he'd pick me up today. I supposed that it was part of his 'big surprise'. I grabbed my backpack, called good-bye to my parents, and walked out the door. I climbed into the passenger seat of Kade's car and buckled my seat belt.

"Hey, gorgeous," Kade said as I climbed into the car. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day," I replied. Kade leaned in and kissed me on the lips very gently.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," I replied before giving him a peck on the cheek. "So what is this 'surprise' you have planned for me?"

"I can't tell you, otherwise it wouldn't be a surprise," Kade said mysteriously. "Now we'd better get going to school."

"Ugh, you're no fun," I complained.

"What do you mean I'm no fun? I'm tons of fun. I'm giving you a Valentine's Day surprise, well, surprises, actually, aren't I?"

"Wait, you mean there's more than one surprise?" I asked excitedly.

"I've already said too much," Kade replied dramatically. For the rest of the ride, we made small talk. Finally, when we arrived at the parking lot, I decided to bring up a touchy subject.

"Kade, did you hear about Taylor and Bailey's break up?" I asked hesitantly.

Kade didn't say anything for a few moments. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Yeah, I did. I don't think it was right of Taylor to tell Bailey he didn't want to do anything today, but I also think Bailey overreacted."

"I tried to get her to think it over, but she wouldn't. She called him and broke up with him right after she got his text," I explained. "How's Taylor holding up?"

"He's pretty crushed. I hope he'll be okay today, you know, with it being Valentine's Day and what not."

"Yeah. Well, we should probably get inside," I said as I climbed out of the Camaro.

"Hey, wait, I have something for you," said Kade as he hit the button to pop the trunk of his car.

"A surprise? Already?" I asked with a smile. Kade walked around to his trunk, pulled something out, and then walked back over to me.

"Here you go," Kade said as he handed me a huge bouquet of flowers. It was a bouquet of a dozen roses surrounded by a few stems of baby's breath.

"Kade, they're gorgeous. I love them," I said sincerely as I pulled him into a hug.

"They're still not as beautiful as you," he replied as he hugged me back.

"You're the best. I love you," I said as I went up on my tip-toes to kiss him.

"I love you, too," he replied as he took my hand and started to walk towards the school.

When we had gotten inside the school, I said, "Kade, where am I supposed to put these flowers?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. How about your locker?" he suggested.

"That'll work. I'll just have to remember to grab them after school," I said as I headed towards my locker, Kade following right behind me.

"Hey, I've gotta go talk to my college English teacher, but I'll see you later, okay?" Kade said.

"Okay, bye," I smiled. Kade looked around to make sure there weren't any teachers around before giving me a quick peck on the cheek. I began to blush, but before anyone could see, I turned to my locker and opened it. A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. I reached down to pick it up and realized that it was a note. It read, 'Roses are red, violets are blue. I'm terrible at poems, but that won't stop me from loving you. Love, Kade.'